Mumbai: Ticketing giant BookMyShow stated on Monday that ‘the listing or delisting of a show is completely an organiser’s prerogative’.
The platform was responding to stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra’s allegation that it had de-listed his shows following political controversy over his show Naya Bharat, The News Minute reported.
A day earlier on April 6, the comedian in an open letter to the platform said that the de-listing severed his connection with his audiences to whom he had performed over the past decade.
Responding to this letter, BookMyShow stated that it ‘is a platform to facilitate the sale of tickets and operates the business with neutrality and in compliance with the applicable laws of India.’
The platform also said ‘The listing or de-listing of a show is completely an organiser’s prerogative, and they have full discretion over it’.
BookMyShow made it clear amid controversy that its role is to ‘provide a platform for ticket sales of live shows’, adding that ‘it is the decision of the organiser or the venue to list or delist their shows’.
Claiming that the content of the shows does not reflect the company’s views, the platform also added that performers could sell tickets independently on their platforms.
Following controversy of Naya Bharat show, three FIRs have been filed filed against the comedian for allegedly calling Deputy CM Eknath Shinde a ‘traitor’.
Subsequently, Kamra’s shows were not available on BookMyShow which the comedian termed as stemming from political pressure.
Kamra in his open letter expressed disappointment, saying that ‘You may not owe me a platform, but you owe your users an explanation.’
The Madras High Court granted Kamra interim protection from arrest allowing him time to seek anticipatory bail in Mumbai, according to the report.